CRI&P Caboose
Going hand in hand with the depot
is our wooden caboose. Originally
built by the Bettendorf Company
in Bettendorf, Iowa, in 1902 as a B-2
boxcar, with an outside frame. It served
as a boxcar for 30 years. In 1942 the
Rock Island needed cabooses for the
war effort but the War Production
Board would not allocate the steel to
manufacture cabooses, so the Rock
Island utilized the old B-2 boxcars and
turned them into cabooses in 1942.
They co9ntinued in service until the
1969’s when they were withdrawn
from train service. For information on
our caboose please see our Newsletter,
summer of 2017 edition, page 10.
It needs a lot of work, but it is in fairly
good condition and a lot better than
a number of wooden cabooses in
Colorado.
We need help donations of time and
money and we can succeed in building
a railroad heritage site that has few
equals in eastern Colorado. Something
we all will be proud of!
For more information see our Facebook
page CRI&P Calhan Depot Project.
